Minchiate Tarot - tarot decks

Price: US $14.49

ProductID: alt0390

The Minchiate Tarot is a re-illustration of the 16th century tarot-like deck, the ncient Minchiate. Brian Williams has given

a more modern style to the medieval scenes in its 97 cards (there are extras for astrological signs, virtues and the

elements).

Specifications

Name

Minchiate Tarot

Creators

Brian Williams

Publisher

Inner Traditions 1999

Deck Type

Tarot Deck

Cards

97

Deck Tradition

Minchiate

Suits

Court Cards

Strength

is 7

Justice

is 8

Card Size

3.00 x 5.00 in. = 7.62cm x 12.70cm

Card Language

English

Card Back

Unknown

Reviews
d the Pope (Hierophant) was replaced with the
Eastern Emperor.

Brian has taken the concept of the
Minchiate Tarot and redesigned the drawings to reflect the
current times - times that are easier for us to relate to.
The resulting images are both calming and profound,
without using a great deal of esoteric symbology.

The
Knights are presented as Centaur-types - the Knight of
Coins being half lion/half man; the Knight of Swords and
the Knight of Staves being half horse/half man; the
Knight of Cups being part man/part lion/part fish - and
wearing wings! The Four of Cups shows a urn type cup at
each of the four corners, with a monkey in the middle,
holding a hand mirror and looking into it. Prudence shows
a female, seated, with a snake in her right hand and
a mirror held up in her left hand, into which she
gazes.

The Tower is an absolutely amazing card. It shows a
female figure, running from a door filled with flames. As
she looks back, a devil reaches forward to grab hold
of her. I
t is clear that the devil in the flames has
no hold on her, and it is also interesting to me to
note that the face of the devil seems to be the face of
the female figure running from it.

Air shows a
wonderful pastoral scene, with the sun coming up over the
hills, and a dog at rest in the meadow as birds fly
freely in the sky.

It is also interesting to compare the
Eastern and Western Emperors. They are both featured in a
seated position, with the Eastern Emperor looking to the
left of the card, and the Western Emperor looking
straight out from the card. The Eastern Emperor holds his
scepter in his right hand and his globe in his left hand;
the Western Emperor holds his scepter in his left hand
and his globe in his right hand. The Western
Emperor also features a griffin seated to the right of his
chair, at his feet. Both emperors are mature but young
men.

The people in this deck are worthy of comment - not
only because of the warm manner in which they are
presented, but because t
he same male and female figure appear
consistently, with some variation. In other words - one male and
one female model appear to have been used, to very
good effect. Those that have viewed this deck will
instantly recognize where the models - at least the male
model - originated.

The pips in this deck are largely
symbols of the suits, rather than pictures of any kind.
Some of the pips show small vignettes at the bottom of
the card (the Two through Six and Eight of Swords, and
the Two of Staves), with the suit of Coins showing
male and female faces within the suit symbol. The Three
and Four of Cups, and the Four of Coins all show
animals in the middle of the card.

The cards themselves
are 3" by 5" , on good quality, glossy card stock.
They are slick, and a bit hard to handle for smaller
hands. The back of the cards show a white background,
with a thin blue outer border, followed by 1/4" white
border and a 1/4" blue and white borders. The center of
the card shows a golden background
, upon which we see
an angelic form, with arms held out to their sides
and wings. They appear to be standing on the skull of
an animal with curved horns. To the left of the horns
we see the letters MIN in black. To the right of the
horns we see the letters NVO in black. In very small
letters under the angel we see INV - Brian Williams.

The
face of the cards carries a white border, with color
coded borders and backgrounds for the suits - Cups are
blue, Coins are red, Swords are yellow and Staves are
green. The card title appears in large letters under the
card, with smaller letters under that showing the
Italian name. The Majors show the English name, under
which appears the number, with the Italian name for the
card appearing under that.

The accompanying book is a
gold mine of information! Aside from the amazing
Renaissance line drawings and references That Brian WIlliams
has become noted for, there is a truly interesting
study of the elemental attributions for Fire and Air -
as som
eone who strongly falls in the Wands=Fire,
Swords=Air category, this is the first time that I have seen
an argument for Wands=Air, Swords=Fire that came
close to changing my mind.

At the end of the book Brian
presents his version of three basic Tarot spreads - the
Celtic Cross, the Twelve Houses (aka Astrological
spread), and the Tetraktys. The latter spread is highly
esoteric, and is presented by Tarot Historian Tom Tadfor
Little. I have to say - it took my breath away!

As Brian
himself states in the accompanying book - the Minchiate
Tarot is and isn't a Tarot deck. It is, because it
follows the historical foundations of Tarot and Tarot
archetypes, and it isn't because he has reinserted the core of
the Minchiate lineage - the twelve astrological signs,
the four elements and the added four virtues. Taking
these cards out of the deck won't work - because they
are an integral part of its structure, they are not
cards that were slapped on at the end at the whimsy of
the deck creator.
<
p>I recommend this deck for those
Tarot students who already have a solid Tarot background
and some background in Tarot history. It is an
excellent reading deck, and a profound deck for meditation
and contemplation. And ... it gives one a whole new
way of looking at the Tarot, at its foundation and at
all that it can be.